To build a business and open up opportunities, professional printers know that clients place a high priority on investing in dependable print products. Konica Minolta’s newly developed Simitri HD E polymerised toner helps to satisfy these needs. This article appears in the Africa Print Journal magazine.
At the start of the new millennium, Konica Minolta developed its proprietary polymerised toner for clients who expected the best. For print providers in need of quick production on a daily basis, the Simitri HD E polymerised toner is guaranteed to attract attention and loyalty over the short, medium and long term.
Konica Minolta’s innovative strength and the leading role it plays in the production of polymerised toners add value to its clients’ products. The fourth toner generation, Simitri HD E delivers consistently outstanding results to satisfy even the most stringent client demands. Owing to the fact that the Simitri HD E polymerised toner does not contain oil, it is possible to write on top of the output, apply UV coatings or lamination to create a more valuable product.
GREEN CREDENTIALS
Simitri toners play a key role in the energy efficiency of Konica Minolta equipment, as polymerisation greatly reduces environmental impact, generating as much as 40 percent less CO2 during production. In addition, Simitri HD E requires a lower fusing temperature. Both aspects contribute greatly to decreasing the amount of energy used and the related CO2 emissions. At the same time, biomass, the plant based resource used in Konica Minolta’s toner, is CO2-neutral during recycling and further reduces the carbon footprint. The de-inking process as practised during paper recycling is especially effective in the case of Simitri HD E polymerised toner. This means it is very easy to produce good-quality recycling paper from this paper waste – another compelling aspect to help build your business.
BEST IMAGE QUALITY
The extremely small size and uniform shape of the ultra-fine Simitri HD E toner particles assure the highest image quality, as well as the razor-sharp reproduction of text and line drawings. Simitri HD E ensures consistently excellent image output quality, on par with the quality of offset. The images produced have perfect edges and lines, outstandingly solid colours and brilliant half-tone and skin-tone quality. The secret behind the quality of the Simitri HD E toner is found in its design: it was engineered to follow the roughness of the paper surface with ease, to achieve an optimised and natural lustre for each type of paper, from glossy or matte to non-coated paper and beyond.
IMPRESSIVE MEDIA FLEXIBILITY
Simitri HD E toner fuses at a lower temperature, which brings several benefits for professional printers: it puts money in your pocket by saving electricity, and it also increases the type of media that can be handled by the printer engine, ultimately enabling the printer to produce a wider range of print products. It allows for the printing of labels, envelopes, glossy papers and heavyweight papers, at the same time as reducing paper curling. The printed output is more durable and does not peel away from the paper surface: paper can be folded without degrading the print quality, not to be underestimated when printing corporate brochures, which usually feature folded edges.
100 PERCENT LIGHT FASTNESS, NO WHITENING
With degree '6' in the Blue Wool Scale1, the Fogra Forschungsgesellschaft Druck e.V. acknowledged that the Simitri HD E toner from Konica Minolta, used in all current production printing systems, has a very good light fastness. This result is completed by a renewed certification for food safety by TÜV Rhineland and for Deinkability score for adhesive applications by INGEDE. Depending on whether a print product is exposed to daylight or artificial light in indoor rooms, the material used must be considered so that significant colour changes through light exposition are avoided. Light fastness is an important quality criterion for graphic communication providers and in-house print rooms as it ensures that print products do not lose their quality by whitening. Tested by Fogra, with the Simitri HD E toner clients can rely longer on their product’s light fastness when printed on a Konica Minolta production printing system.
AWARD WINNING DEVICES
The European Digital Press Association’s (EDP) recent 2016 awards have shone a spotlight on two Konica Minolta products; the AccurioJet KM-1 digital inkjet press and the bizhub PRESS C71hc digital printing system and in 2015 the bizhub PRESS C1070 received an award from EDP.
As an organisation consisting of publishers of European magazines that focus on printing, the EDP annually reviews products and technologies in the field of digital printing, awarding those products or technologies that have received the highest rating in each category. The award ceremony was conducted at drupa 2016, the world’s largest international trade fair for print and cross media solutions held in Du?sseldorf, Germany.
Konica Minolta also received numerous awards from Buyers Laboratry (BLi) in 2015 for the bizhub PRESS C1100, Outstanding Colour Mid-Volume Production Device, bizhub PRESS B1052, Outstanding Light–Mid Volume Production Device and the bizhub PRESS B2250 for Mid to High Volume Production Device respectfully. These awards acknowledge the best in-class devices in BLi’s production field tests that measures attributes that distinguish the most outstanding performers in a challenging evaluation covering productivity, image quality, media handling, ease of use and more.
BEST CUT SHEET COLOUR B2+ PRINTER OF THE YEAR
The AccurioJet KM-1 B2 digital inkjet press received the Best Cut Sheet Colour B2+ Printer of the Year title. Able to print high-quality images, comparable to those of sheet-fed offset printers, on a wide variety of paper media, this product provides the commercial printing market with a long-awaited solution. The sheet-fed printing press uses individual sheets of pre-cut paper in the same size, while roll-fed printing press uses rolls of paper.
BEST CUT SHEET COLOUR LIGHT PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
The bizhub PRESS C71hc digital printing system received the title of Best Cut Sheet Light Production of the Year. Using Konica Minolta’s proprietary high-chroma toner, this machine enables high-fidelity reproduction of colours almost comparable to images on a monitor and digital photo images, an achievement that is difficult to realise using conventional toners.
Konica Minolta provides printing companies with solutions that allow them to create a seamless and efficient workflow, improve productivity and ensure stable quality. At the same time, this can assist businesses to provide their own clients with new, value-added ideas that widen the scope of their marketing activities.
INTRODUCING EXCITING NEW TECHNOLOGY
With a view to improving work efficiency, reducing production time and ensuring effective quality control, Konica Minolta announced the launch of the new brand AccurioPro at drupa 2016, which is an array of production print software solutions that will be able to promote the automation of various print tasks.
Konica Minolta's proprietary solution consists of eight modules, which cover most printing requirements. The AccurioPro brand for digital professional printing solutions is created to assist businesses with a streamlined workflow. In keeping with today’s fast-paced work environment, it has been specifically designed to be speedy and flexible, increasing productivity. It provides open connectivity between different printing technologies, centralised management of multiple printing technologies and automation of labour-intensive processes.
The software includes the following components:
• AccurioPro Flux Ultimate, a web-to-print application.
• AccurioPro Colour Care Server (CCS), an intelligent print and colour server that provides colour consistency across all output.
• AccurioPro Flux Essential, for late stage make-ready and professional print workflow automation.
The value of digital printing today lies not only in replicating offset work on a smaller scale or at a shorter run length, but developing unique, high-value products. The recognition from the EDP 2016 awards for the AccurioJet KM-1 B2 and the bizhub PRESS C71hc digital printing systems confirms the outstanding quality of Konica Minolta’s systems. Combine this with the company’s Simitri HD E polymerised toner and you have a winning combination.
These acknowledgements are testament to the fact that Konica Minolta is one of the primary leaders in print technology, making waves in various segments of the print industry, thereby positively disrupting the way print used to be viewed and establishing it as a changing force that adds measurable value to business.
